From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia CTA-Arsenal
CTA-Arsenal
at Rheims in July 1948, but had to withdraw at the last
minute.[1] The race was won by an Alfa Romeo.
The car made its second and final race appearance in
1949 before the project was abandoned and the project
team leader, Albert Lory, joined Renault as the director
responsible for research.
Technical
Lory designed a high performance 1 482 cm³ V8 engine
incorporating four overhead camshafts and two Roots
compressors.[1] This unit initially provided 215 hp at
CTA-Arsenal at the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix for historical cars 6,000 rpm. By 1948 the engine had been modified to pro-
duce a maximum of 275 hp at 8,000 rpm. However, it was
The CTA-Arsenal is a French racing car which was de- matched to a transmission system that one commentator
veloped by the Centre for the study of car and cycle technol- described as "delicate".[1]
ogy (then abbreviated as CTA but today renamed as the The chassis employed independent suspension with
UTAC and constructed by Arsenal at Châtillon. Two cars longitudinal torsion bars at the front and lateral torsion
were eventually built. The car was intended as the French bars at the rear, with wheels mounted on “silent blocks”
“national single seat racing car” to compete against Alfa that permitted vertical movement. The road holding pro-
Romeo but the project was abandoned because the car vided by this combination was reported to be catastroph-
proved incapable of finishing the races in which it was ic.[1] Stopping power came from hydraulically controlled
scheduled to appear.[1] drum brakes and the car sat on Rudge-Whitworth spoked
wheels.
Origins
Sources and further reading
In 1945 Raymond Sommer, who had won the Le Mans
24 Hour Race in 1932 and 1933, informed the engineers [1] ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1948
at the CTA about his project to construct a racing car (salon Paris oct 1947) (Paris: Histoire & collections)
that could represent France in motor races. He persuaded 7:
Nr. 7 Page 20. 1998.
Marcel Paul, the industry minister, to release govern-
ment funds in order that the CTA might work on the pro- See also
ject.
UTAC (French)
Albert Lory, who had built his reputation with Delage
in the 1920s, was placed in charge of the project team, but
he only took responsibility for the engine, being highly External links
critical of the chassis and suspension design which he,
• CTA-Arsenal bei 8W (englisch)
along with independent commentators, regarded as the
• Bericht über den GP für historische Fahrzeuge in
car’s weak spot.
Monaco 2010 bei ultimatecarpage.com
In 1947 the car was entered for the French Grand Prix,
• Foto des CTA-Arsenal am GP für historische
and the race, run that year at Lyon, was postponed till
Fahrzeuge in Monaco 2010 bei ultimatecarpage.com
21 September to enable it to compete. Unfortunately the
(englisch)
transmission broke on the start line, however,[1] and the
• CTA-Arsenal bei diccionario.motorgiga.com
record shows that it was placed last after completing ze-
(spanisch)
ro laps. Nevertheless, the next year the CTA-Arsenal re-
• Motor des CT-Arsenal auf dem Prüfstand (youtube)
turned to the fray, now with two cars built. It was sched-
• 1962 photo of unrestored CTA-Arsenal
uled to feature in the French Grand Prix, now running
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CTA-Arsenal&oldid=459435035"
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia CTA-Arsenal
Categories:
• Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France
• Car manufacturers of France
This page was last modified on 7 November 2011 at 10:10. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
2